by Jamie Evanini, Faith Action Ministry
On Sunday, January 12, the Faith Action Ministry hosted a special gathering to celebrate, commiserate, and motivate by looking back on the fullness of 2019, and casting our visions for 2020. As part of the event, participants walked through a makeshift ‘labyrinth’ in the Crossings Room, with index cards along the path telling the story of 2019 in numbers.
As this new year of 2020 begins, we invite those of you who couldn’t be with us on Sunday to revisit the year we just lived through. Here is 2019 in Numbers, each one representing so much life, heartache, toil, fear, and hope. (Of course, so much happened in 2019 at the Action Table, at UUCWC, and in our country — these numbers are a tiny slice of a wider view!)
May these numbers and all they stand for open your heart to the fullness of 2019, and inspire you to put your faith into action in 2020: at the Action Table, with Social Action Ministry projects, in your other Committee and Ministry efforts at UUCWC, through the upcoming nationwide “UU the Vote” campaign (stay tuned for more info on that coming soon!), and in your community at large. Another full year awaits us, and here we are, greeting it together.
Blessings to all in 2020! — The Faith Action Ministry (FAM)
2019 IN NUMBERS
148 # of people who visited the Action Table
1,591: # of actions done at the Action Table
~$2,000: amount raised for LALDEF at La Cena Latina in October
$125 (plus matching funds!): amount raised for the UU Service Committee
10: # of bills we helped turn into laws!
8: # of principles inspiring UUCWC to put our faith into action
$43,068.73: amount raised by Pennsylvania UUs to fund a new legislative director in Harrisburg, Rev. Joan Sabatino
73.54: % of NYC voters who approved Ranked Choice Voting in November 2019
118: # of miles of proposed PennEast Pipeline that did NOT get built!
259,823: # of acres burned in CA wildfires
52,000: # of immigrants detained in the U.S.
2,500: # of September Climate Strike Rallies, with 4 million people in 163 countries
699,350: # of DACA recipients waiting to find out whether they will face deportation
40: # of bipartisan co-sponsors of the Gift Ban bill in the PA State Assembly
3x: Black New Jerseyans are 3 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana offenses
1: # of people arrested in New Jersey for marijuana offenses every 15 minutes
__: # of times you wondered if anything matters anymore
__: # of times you called your members of Congress
__: # of times you went to a protest or rally
__: # of times you couldn’t believe what you were hearing
__: # of times your faith in humanity was weakened
__: # of times your faith in humanity was renewed